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What a busy day it seems
to be on the corner of Hougoumont
Avenue and South Road in Waterloo!
We’d like to think that everyone is rushing to experience the
wonderful service at Martins Bank’s Waterloo Branch, but who knows what they
are doing! The Bank of Liverpool opens
a Branch at Waterloo on the Lancashire coast in 1893, one of a network of
branches that grows steadily across what is now Merseyside, along with the
Wirral Peninsula, Cheshire and North Wales.
Waterloo is a full
branch with no sub branches, and opens for the full six day banking week.
Under Barclays it remains open for a few years after the 1969 merger, the
doors close for the final time in 1976. Back in 1957, Martins Bank Magazine
reports on the retirement gathering for Mr Eastwood, one of the Bank’s
longest serving members of staff with forty-seven years under his
belt!
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In Service: March
1893 until 23 January 1976
Image © Barclays Ref 0030-3087
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 In
spite of the date, December 28th, there was a good and representative
gathering of colleagues, past and present, at Waterloo branch, to bid
farewell to Mr. Eastwood who was retiring after 47 years' service. The proceedings were opened by Mr. G. L. Humphreys,
second-in-command, who paid a warm tribute to Mr. Eastwood, and the
presentation of a cheque on behalf of the subscribers was made by Mr. R. H.
Price, Staff Manager, who referred in his speech to his close association
with Dick Eastwood, as he is known to everybody, and to a number of points
of similarity in their respective careers. Each has opened a new branch
(Mr. Eastwood, Borough Road; Mr. Price, Cambridge); each has served in Head
Office Inspection Department; both were comrades-in-arms in the First World
War; and both were members of the staff of a branch (South John Street),
which was subsequently blown out of the ground during the Second World War.
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Images © Barclays Ref 0030-3087
Mr. Price said that though
he attended many such ceremonies he never got used to them, because each
was centred on a personality and the friends who rallied to such an
occasion gave each a quality of its own. He also remarked on Mr. Eastwood's
length of service and said how impressive 47 years' devoted service really
is. Looking around at the distinguished group of pensioner colleagues—Mr. G. O. Papworth, Mr. N. A.
Milroy, Mr. T. L. Thomas, Mr. E. T. Sandiford and others, he said he was
reminded of the line in a well-known hymn as Mr. Eastwood left to join this
happy band: “We feebly struggle, they in glory shine”. Mr. Eastwood's reply was from the heart, sincere and
full of gratitude towards those who had been with him during the heat and
burden of the day and to those who had come to do him honour on the day of
his retirement. We were delighted to have Mrs. Eastwood at the ceremony
and our pleasure was marked by the presentation of a bouquet by Mrs. J.
Havard, a member of our Waterloo staff. Mr. Eastwood commenced his service
with the Bank of Liverpool in 1909, at Myrtle Street, and subsequently
served at Higher Tranmere and in various departments of the old Head Office.
During the First World War he served
with H.M. Forces from 1914 to 1919, returning to Produce Loan Department.
In 1924 he opened the new branch at Borough Road as Manager and in 1934 he
joined the Inspection Staff at Head Office. He was appointed Accountant at
South John Street in 1936 and Assistant Manager in 1938. He was appointed
Manager at Waterloo in 1939.
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